Lobo becomes legend

When she looked up toward the dome adorned with the faces of past greats enshrined at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at the jacket presentation and press conference the day before the Enshrinement Ceremony, Rebecca Lobo was taken aback by something – herself, looking back at her.
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Forest Park hosts Bruins Fan Fest

Western Massachusetts native and Boston Bruins forward Frank Vatrano stole the show at the Boston Bruins’ inaugural Fan Fest at Forest Park on Aug. 29. Springfield was one of six stops on the team’s first of its kind tour throughout New England.
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Eat.Enjoy.Live.: A first timer tries out Big E food

For veteran Big E attendees we know the drill: going to the fair means being able to try food we’ve never seen before and never imagined before. Fair food is an art form located at the intersection of taste, novelty and mobility. A fair food item may be the best tasting treat you’ve ever had, but it has to have a degree of mobility so you can graze as you wander around the acres of fairgrounds.
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Springfield celebrates National Night Out

Neighborhood councils and the Springfield Police Department, the Mayor’s Office, Springfield Fire Department, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department throughout the city of Springfield celebrated National Night Out on Aug. 1.
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Homebrew Showcase supports local adoption

By day he’s the assistant managing editor of Reminder Publications, but by night (and weekend) Chris Maza is a dedicated home brewer and beer aficionado. His love for homebrewing, as well as the craft beer movement, was used to raise funds for a cause also near and dear to his heart, the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE). Maza organized a Homebrew Showcase that took place Aug. 5 at Paddy’s Irish Pub which raised $2,245 for MARE.
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RADSpringfield keeps things rolling

When H. Alex Weck first moved to Springfield from Boston, he realized there was a problem. The avid bicyclist couldn’t find a bike shop anywhere in the city. Now, standing in front of the garage at the rectory of the former Holy Family Church among a group of kids and volunteers discussing and repairing their bikes, Weck said he’s proud he’s been able to bring a needed service with the RADSpringfield Community Bike Shop.
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Sanctuary showdown: City, churches at odds over immigration issue

In spite of substantial pushback from city officials including Mayor Domenic Sarno, the Springfield Sanctuary and Solidarity Network will continue its efforts to provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants.
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Opinion: Why does the Conference Committee meet in secret?

So, the big question on my mind was why on the name of all that is holy did the conference committee remove the east-west rail study from the FY18 Massachusetts budget? No one is talking, with the exception of conference committee member state Rep. Todd Smola, who was the only member of the committee to have the courtesy of returning my call.
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Court Square building redevelopment advances

The Springfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would allow the potential redevelopment of 31 Elms St. into a mixed-use building of retail shops, offices and apartments to move forward. The developers, however, cautioned there are still challenges to the completion of restoring the historic structure to a new use, not the least of which is raising the $35 million to $45 million needed for the project.
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Amazing World of Dr. Seuss opens to the public

A week prior, the murals were being touched up and workers were busy finishing exhibits, but all was ready for the opening on June 3 of the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the only museum dedicated to the life and work of Springfield native Theodor Geisel, better known to generations of readers as Dr. Seuss. Directing the final touches was artist Josh Simpson who is the museum’s designer, who called the assignment “challenging and complex.”
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Tower Square kicks off farmers market

Tower Square kicked off its season of farmers market events with its annual environmental fair on May 18. The farmers market will be every Friday in the park area across from Tower Square on Main Street from 11:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m. Besides a selection of vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs and baked goods, there will be special events.
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Opinion: Interesting how the MGM apartment story developed

How a story evolves is of great interest to me and it should be to people who really want to understand how things work. Let’s consider the way the story about the MGM’s commitment to building 54 market rate housing merged with the ongoing story of what is happening with the great historic building at 31 Elms St.
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Thunderbirds looking to build on momentum

The ice is melted, the boards have been removed and players have long since left to head home for the offseason. But for the Springfield Thunderbirds’s front office team, this is the proving ground. After what has been heralded by most as a successful start for the franchise in its inaugural season, Executive Vice President Nate Costa and his team are now tasked with building upon their accomplishments to build a sustainable future for the team.
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Springfield College to build Adaptive Ballpark

5/18/2017
| Chris Miracle

Baseball great Cal Ripken Jr. and the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation is partnering with Springfield College to jointly design a one-of-a-kind intercollegiate and adaptive baseball park on the Springfield College campus. Construction began on April 27. Springfield College President Mary-Beth A. Cooper, Ripken, and foundation board chair Mark Butler signed the partnership agreement during the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation board meeting at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel back in December.
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Group promotes biking and walking in Springfield

After a successful community bike ride in the fall of 2016, the group has taken on a goal of hosting monthly rides in different sections of the city to encourage biking as a viable option for getting around. “The ride we did last fall and the rides this year are designed to show just how accessible some areas of the city are. We’ve got some existing bike lanes and some roads that are plenty wide enough,” Johnson explained. “We’re going to do one that emphasizes Indian Orchard, another for East Springfield, and our next one will be around the Blunt Park area.”
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Opinion: At Town Meeting, emotion can trump logic and reason

Of course, that is not the point of Town Meeting. It is a place for advocacy and discussion and is the purest form of a representative democracy we have. You’re supposed to talk if you have a salient point and treated with respect by your neighbors. Hopefully there won’t be a flaming bag of dog poo on your front steps afterwards.
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Eat.Enjoy.Live.: Local authors take different paths

Two local authors – Debra Rollend of Wilbraham and William Dusty of Springfield – have taken their avocations into their own hands and used different means of self-publishing to make their literary dreams come true.
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Eat.Enjoy.Live: Morrison’s art on display

Artist Frank Morrison's aintings are on exhibit at the Art for the Soul Gallery at Tower Square through June 15. “We feel very fortunate to have another highly acclaimed artist show his works at the gallery,” Rosemary Tracy Woods, executive director of Art for the Soul Gallery said. “We are especially impressed with Mr. Morrison’s care, concern and focus on children and literacy.”
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Williams driven by desire to serve city

4/20/2017
| Payton North

Ward 5 City Councilor Marcus Williams, 28, has been in office for nearly two years. In the November 2015 election the first-time candidate celebrated his victory against incumbent Councilor Clodo Conception.
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Opinion: Better quality of life comes down to being considerate

I understand the controversial concepts and discussions about tragedy, forgiveness and working toward redemption that might result from a story about a murder conviction, but what I can’t get over is how some media outlets reacted to the suicide of Aaron Hernandez.
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Healthy Living: State bets GameSense will stem problem gambling

Who hasn’t done it? Plunked down a dollar or two for a scratch ticket when you hit the convenience store for gas or milk? Kicked in a few bucks when the office pool was betting on the latest big Powerball? Taken advantage of one of those “fundraising” bus trips to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun? Congratulations, you just joined the ranks of the 72 percent of adult Bay Staters who gambled last year.
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New Pope Francis head sees challenges, 'but the opportunities are incredible'

Dr. W. Paul Harrington Jr. was selected to lead Pope Francis High School after a nationwide search assisted by Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions. He was most recently the head of school for the Bishop Garcia Diego High School in California.
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Shriners Hospital builds upon its original mission

Since the 1920s, Shriners Hospitals for Children have been providing essential care to the youngest and most vulnerable of our population. They have also been constantly evolving. When the doors opened at the Shiners Hospital in Springfield on Feb. 21, 1925, the mission was the treatment of children with polio. As polio was essentially eradicated, the hospital’s focus shifted to its current role as a specialty hospital treating pediatric orthopedic and spine issues, rheumatology, chest wall deformities, neuromuscular cerebral palsy and cleft lip and palate issues with no restrictions on care due to an inability to pay. And even now, Shriners keeps evolving.
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From the Editor's Desk: Every bit of praise that comes Bruce Landon's way is well deserved

As Bruce Landon's Springfield hockey journey nears its end, I've been recalling my many encounters with him in my years as a journalist. Always, regardless of the situation, Bruce demonstrated that he's fully committed to his passions – family, hockey and Western Massachusetts. And more than that, he's always a gentleman.
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White Lion makes big commitment to Springfield

President Ray Berry recently informed Reminder Publications and Springfield Magazine that the company has identified a location in downtown Springfield it intends to transform into the city’s first working brewery since the 1940s. “Since day one we’ve always been sharing with folks that our intent was to have a facility in Springfield and now we’re closer than we’ve ever been to making that happen,” Berry said.
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Bruce Landon: 'I'm certainly very grateful, very honored'

3/16/2017
| Payton North

At three years old, he started playing hockey at his Canadian home. At 20 years old, he was drafted, and moved to Springfield. At 28 years old, he injured his knee, retired from professional hockey, and transitioned from the ice to the office. Now, at 68 years old, Bruce Landon is retiring, and was inducted into Springfield’s Hockey Hall of Fame on March 3.
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In a tiny space behind Europa Black Rock Bar & Grill in Ludlow, big things are happening. Into what looks like a small storage shed that once served as the chef’s quarters when the restaurant was an inn, Josh Britton and Mike Rodrigues have crammed an entire brewery. But don’t let the operation’s diminutive nature fool you. The two have grandiose plans.
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Garden Club celebrates 100 years

3/16/2017
| Payton North

Though Western Massachusetts's forecast reveals blustering winds, icy temperatures and barren conditions, the Springfield Garden Club has been celebrating their 100th anniversary and the beauty of plant life since January. Founded in 1917 by Fanny Stebbins, Gurdon Gordon, Moses Lymann, Horace Rice and Grade Pettis-Johnson, the club lives on today with 97 active members from not only Springfield, but surrounding communities as well.
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'Be Prepared' for J-Art Youth's The Lion King Jr.

This March, the auditorium of the Springfield Jewish Community Center will be filled with the animals of the Pride Lands of Africa as the J-Art Youth theater group brings the Broadway production The Lion King Jr. to the stage. Directed by Tony Jones, a troupe of 43 children in kindergarten through eighth grade will tell the tale of Simba, the heir to the throne of Pride Rock, who must find the king inside of him to assume his rightful place and de-throne his uncle Scar, the lion responsible for the death of Simba’s father Mufasa.
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Team effort makes Thunderbirds soar

It’s 1:30 on Friday afternoon. At the Springfield Thunderbirds offices in the bowels of the MassMutual Center, there is a quiet, but active buzz. The Syracuse Crunch is in town. More than 4,500 people are expected at the MassMutual Center, including dozens of different groups.
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Fiske feeling super with Patriots

Former MetroWest Reminder Assistant Editor Angelique Fiske joined the Patriots organization as the team’s lifestyle editor, charged with giving fans a look into the lives and off-field activities of the team and its players, in early March 2016. Less than a year later, she was at the Super Bowl with the team.
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Kyle Belanger, live from Radio Row

2/17/2017
| Kyle Belanger

Kyle Belanger, Communications/Sports Journalism faculty instructor at Springfield College, spent the week working Radio Row at the Super Bowl and was good enough to contribute these reflections from a whirlwind week.
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Books and Brew offers new flavor to book clubs

Just this January, the East Forest Park Branch Library launched Books and Brew, a one-of-a-kind club that combines the casual atmosphere, hot food and cool drinks of your local bar with the appeal of good literature.
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